And the Arctic walks near Novaya Zemlya,
The Arctic is shaking.
Yu. Vizbor. New Earth. 1970

The military played a leading role in the development of many remote territories of our country. Somewhere in the Far North and Far East garrisons to this day are the main type of settlements. True, in the post-Soviet period, the number of such garrisons and the population in them sharply decreased. However, our geography textbooks still do not write anything about "military" development, even if it has not been a secret for a long time. This is a little surprising, since for many both old-developed regions and regions of new development, parts of different power departments perform the functions of city-forming enterprises.

Novaya Zemlya (area 83 thousand km 2) separates the Barents and Kara seas. This is one of the oldest islands in the Arctic Ocean since the discovery. Exact time the discovery of the islands is unknown, most likely, this happened during the independence of Veliky Novgorod. The antiquity of the discovery of Novaya Zemlya is also evidenced by its ancient name, Uterus. Hence the name of the Strait Matochkin Shar. Apparently, this name comes from the Finno-Ugric word matka - path. Franz Josef Land was discovered in late XIX v. The Austro-Hungarian expedition, which set off in 1872 in search of the Northeast Passage, and perhaps to reach the North Pole, and in 1873 pressed against the shores of ice to the shores of a hitherto unknown land, named after the then emperor of Austria-Hungary. ZFI, as it is commonly called in the North, has an area of ​​approximately 16 thousand km 2 and consists of 191 islands.

The first permanent settlement on Novaya Zemlya appeared in 1877. It is called Malye Karmakuly. In 1896, a hydrometeorological station was created in Malye Karmakuli, which exists to this day and is the oldest polar station in Russia.

As the islands were developed, new bays were opened and new settlements were built. One of these settlements was the current "capital" of Novaya Zemlya, the village of Belushya Guba, founded in 1897. In addition to Belushya Guba and Malye Karmakul, several more settlements were created on Novaya Zemlya before the revolution, all of which have long disappeared.

Years Civil War New Earth has gone through hard. Since its development before the revolution went to public funds, and their receipt in 1917-1919. ceased, then the population of the islands fell into a very difficult situation.

The creation of new settlements and polar stations continued in the 1920s. For example, Krasino camp is being built on the banks of the Black Bay, the remains of which have survived to this day. In the 1930s, polar stations were built at Cape Zhelaniya, in the Russian harbor, on the coast of Matochkin Shara (Cape Stolbovoy). At the same time, polar stations were created on the Z.F.I., which in 1928 was officially proclaimed part of the territory of the USSR.

In 1942, German submarines began to penetrate the shores of Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land. And not only to penetrate, but also to defend here. On the shores of Novaya Zemlya, the Germans placed automatic hydrometeorological stations, and a polar station was built on Franz Josef Land (Alexandra Land). The remains of this station were discovered in the 50s.

To fight the German fleet in 1942, the Novaya Zemlya naval base (naval base) was created, which had a temporary status. The base included almost all settlements and polar stations that existed by that time. The headquarters of the Novaya Zemlya naval base was located in Belushya Guba. The base was transferred to two formations of patrol ships, several batteries and half-batteries of coastal defense, as well as anti-aircraft artillery batteries. Rogachevo airfield was built 12 km from Belushya Guba.

In July 1942, several ships of the infamous PQ-17 convoy approached Novaya Zemlya. Polar stations, ships and settlements on Novaya Zemlya were fired upon by German submarines.

In the fall of 1942, German aircraft bombed Belushya Guba. In the spring of 1943, I-15bis fighters were deployed at the Rogachevo airfield. The first military pilots on Novaya Zemlya lived in tents all year round. Only after visiting the islands in winter, one can appreciate the feat of these people.

In 1946 the Novaya Zemlya naval base was abolished. The naval ships left the island, the guns of the artillery batteries were removed. The years of the base's existence, however, gave a powerful impetus to the development of Belushya Guba. Rogachevo airfield provides the village with the position of the "capital of the islands". In 1947, the first Nagurskoe airfield was created on Alexandra Land, which is part of Franz Josef Land.
Belushya Guba ("Belushka").

In the 50s, the USSR and the USA began to consider the Arctic as a likely theater of military operations, since the shortest path for strategic aviation between the two then superpowers runs through North Pole... The newly created Air Defense Forces (the country's Air Defense Forces) are showing interest in creating positions on the Arctic islands, including Novaya Zemlya. Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land are beginning to be viewed as a kind of "umbrella" covering the European part of the USSR from the north.

In 1949, the first atomic explosion was carried out in the USSR at the Semipalatinsk test site. The decision to create a second, naval, training ground was made in 1953. There are several reasons why Novaya Zemlya became its location. The routes to the islands were well known, the coast was more or less developed, marinas and an airfield were built. However, there were vast unpopulated areas here.

In 1954, work began on the creation of the landfill. The first place for testing atomic weapons was chosen in the Black Bay, where an underwater atomic explosion was carried out on September 21, 1955. In 1957, the only ground explosion on Novaya Zemlya was carried out here. In the 80s, the shores of the Black Bay were littered with armored vehicles - tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, on which, apparently, the effect of atomic explosions was tested. The test settlement is being built not far from the Black Bay, in the Bashmachnaya Bay. The territory between the Black and Bashmachnaya lips is being built up with all sorts of structures, the purpose of which is not always possible to guess. But their number, and often their size, is amazing. In those places it is very easy to understand what the planet would turn into if the "products" tested on Novaya Zemlya found their combat use.

Apparently, the village on the bank of the Bashmachnaya Bay was abandoned in 1969, when there was a release of radioactive gas after tests in limestones. In this village, everything bears traces of hasty flight, even the mortar left by the unfinished brick wall. In the center of the village in the 80s there was still a monument with the inscription "In memory of our fallen comrades" (I reproduce the text from memory, saw it once, and more than twenty years ago). The monument to the fallen comrades in the center of the dead village makes a strong impression. The area of ​​the Black and Bashmachnaya lips subsequently became known as the "South zone" of the test site, after the 1969 release and the evacuation of the village, tests were not carried out here.

The official date of the creation of the training ground on Novaya Zemlya is September 17, 1954, when, in accordance with the directive of the General Staff of the Navy, the training ground was designated as military unit 77510. The number of the military unit is still preserved, although the training ground itself is no longer subordinate to the Navy, but directly to the Ministry of Defense. This day, September 17, 1954, is considered the official day of foundation of the Belushya Guba settlement. On the thirtieth anniversary of this directive, in 1984, a monument to the “Founders of the Garrison. 1954-1984 ".

The Navy is creating a system of units that monitor the movement of ships in the Novaya Zemlya area. These units are located mainly at the former polar stations, although some of these stations (for example, Malye Karmakuly, Cape Zhelaniya and Cape Menshikov) continue to operate in a “civilian” regime. Attempts were made to resume the basing of warships on Novaya Zemlya, but these attempts were unsuccessful. During the nine months of the year, when the coast of New Zealand is ice, the use of these ships was impossible.

Simultaneously with the units of the Navy, units of the country's Air Defense Forces begin to deploy on Novaya Zemlya. The headquarters of the 4th Air Defense Division, as well as the headquarters of the training ground, was located in Belushya Guba. It consisted of radio engineering, anti-aircraft missile and fighter aviation regiments located on Novaya Zemlya, the northeast of the European part of the USSR and on Yamal. On Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, units of the 3rd Radio Technical Regiment (RTP) are deployed. The southernmost "point" of the 3rd RTP was located at Cape Menshikov. The northernmost "points" were located on Franz Josef Land - Graham Bell and Nagurskaya, and in the second half of the 80s, a "point" was deployed on Victoria Island, located between Z.F.I. and Svalbard. "Points" of the 3rd RTP on Franz Josef Land and Victoria Island were the most northern military units Soviet Union... The anti-aircraft missile regiment covered Belushya Guba and Rogachevo, the fighter aviation regiment was based at the Rogachevo airfield and was also intended mainly to protect Novaya Zemlya itself.

Somewhat later on Novaya Zemlya and Z.F.I. the deployment of units and subunits of other branches of the armed forces and branches of the armed forces begins. There were units of the Strategic Missile Forces here that monitored missile test launches and launch spacecraft from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. Military construction units (“construction battalions”) are deployed in Belushya Guba. On Alexandra Land in the 70s, the Nagurskaya frontier post was created, which became the northernmost frontier post of the Soviet Union and present-day Russia. This frontier post still exists.

On the island of Graham Bell, which is part of Franz Josef Land, there was a separate aviation commandant's office, which maintained an ice airfield in working order, capable of receiving heavy aircraft.

In 1956, the creation of the "Northern Zone" of the test site began in the area of ​​the Matochkin Shar Strait. At the western entrance to the strait from the southern side, the settlement of Severny is being built, where the main tests were carried out in the 60-70s. If the "South Zone" of the test site was created for testing atomic weapons, then the initial purpose of creating the "North Zone" was testing nuclear weapons, which is many times more powerful than atomic power. The main tests of nuclear weapons (hydrogen bombs) were carried out on Novaya Zemlya.

In 1957, the entire local population was evicted from the islands and the military became its undivided masters. Since that time, Novaya Zemlya has not performed any economic functions. From the period of the "civil" development of Novaya Zemlya in Belushya Guba, only a few wooden buildings remained in the area of ​​the pier, on one of which there is (or was?) A wooden memorial plaque with the inscription: "Here was the Novaya Zemlya Island Council of Working People's Deputies, the permanent chairman of which was Ilya (Tyko) Vylka. " In total, 298 people were resettled from Novaya Zemlya to the mainland.

From 1957 to 1999, no "civil" power in this part of the country existed, the supreme power on Novaya Zemlya was the commander of military unit 77510. In fact, Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land were outside the grid of administrative-territorial division of the USSR, obeying directly to Moscow.

The most powerful "product" that was tested over Novaya Zemlya was a bomb of 500 megatons of TNT. This test was carried out on October 30, 1961 over the North Island. In 1962 g. atomic tests in the air, on the ground and under water stop. Since that time, only underground tests were conducted on Novaya Zemlya, carried out mainly in the Northern zone of the test site. The number of these tests is sharply reduced: if in 1962 there were 36 of them, then all subsequent years - mainly 1-2 per year, a maximum of 4 (1975). These tests were carried out from 1963 to 1984, in 1985 and 1986 they were not carried out, then they were resumed, and during the 1987 tests, a release of radioactive gas occurred. The last tests of nuclear weapons on Novaya Zemlya were carried out on October 24, 1990. Since then, only explosions of non-nuclear weapons have been carried out at the Northern test site, mainly to maintain the technical condition of the test site.

In the first decades of the "military" development of Novaya Zemlya, atomic weapon testers and defenders of the northern air lines lived in conditions that would most correctly be called terrible. Residential buildings and barracks were mostly wooden and for the most part were barracks with no running water or sewerage. A more or less stable water supply could be established only where there were large lakes with drinking water... In all other places, they had to be content with water obtained as a result of melting snow. Only in the 70s and 80s in Belushya Guba and Rogachevo capital buildings are being built, the construction of which took into account the "northern" standards - high ceilings, triple glazing, etc.

However, at the points built in the second half of the 50s, living conditions until the end of their existence (early 90s) remained largely the same. For the inhabitants of the outlets Belushya Guba and Rogachevo were indeed "capitals", the service at the outlets was inhumanly difficult. There was no "northern romance", as some might think, in such a service. If the officers received a double or triple salary and length of service for two years, then the soldiers did not receive anything. The isolation from the mainland was aggravated by a long stay in a very small team, where all relations were aggravated to the limit, and by "hazing", which flourished here, as in all the Armed Forces. There have been cases of escape "to nowhere", since it is impossible to leave Novaya Zemlya.

The Russian Defense Ministry plans to strengthen control over the Arctic air border.

Russia owns almost half of the coast of the Arctic Ocean, our Arctic sector contains up to 80% of Russian oil reserves and 90% of gas and coal reserves. Only one Shtokman field, which together with Russia is developed by transnational companies, has 3,800 billion m3 of gas (for comparison, this is France's gas consumption over 80 years). In the American sector, the oil reserves of the Chukchi Sea alone are estimated at 15 million barrels, and the gas reserves are over 2,000 billion cubic meters. Large hydrocarbon reserves are also located in the Canadian sector.

In addition to its resource potential, the Arctic has an important military-strategic importance. There are convenient positions for the deployment of elements of strategic deterrence systems, for the launch of ballistic missiles and the location of air defense and missile defense systems. Thanks to global warming and the gradual decrease in the area of ​​ice, the naval forces are able to operate in this region for much of the year.

President of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems Leonid Ivashov stressed the importance of the participation of Russian aviation in the protection of oil production facilities on the Arctic shelf. The expert notes that the countries claiming northern oil are investing vast resources in ensuring a military presence in the region, while the Russian infrastructure is in disrepair.

The decline in the number of military and civilian personnel on Novaya Zemlya begins in the late 1980s. With the cessation of nuclear weapons tests, the number of personnel serving the test site is sharply decreasing. A reduction in the number of servicemen at air defense points begins.

In 1990-1993. the forces of the Air Defense Forces of the country on the islands of the Arctic are eliminated. The liquidation begins with the 3rd radio engineering regiment, whose units, as mentioned above, were located along the entire western coast of Novaya Zemlya and on Franz Josef Land. The personnel are displayed on The mainland, the material part is left at distant points, from close points it is partially exported. Some points (Cape Menshikov, Guba Chernaya) are transferred to the Federal border service, but then they also disband.

The 406th anti-aircraft missile regiment, headquartered in Rogachevo, is being liquidated. The 641st Fighter Aviation Regiment was transferred from Rogachevo to Afrikanda airfield (Murmansk region, Polyarnye Zori) and at the beginning of the XXI century. disbanded. The activity of the 4th (Novaya Zemlya) Air Defense Division is terminated.

A polar fox collar against the background of crumbling plaster is the reality of modern Belushka. V last years, however, in the village they undertook cosmetic repairs: houses are sheathed with colored plastic.

At the same time, the naval points located on the western coast of Novaya Zemlya, as well as parts of the Strategic Missile Forces, are being abolished.

The existence of the village of Rogachevo also ceases. Almost all buildings and structures of the village are now in ruins. The airfield is served by a duty shift who comes from Belushya Guba. Now, as far as can be judged from open sources, all points on Novaya Zemlya have been eliminated. The population is concentrated in the village of Belushya Guba (2.8 thousand people). In addition, the existence of the village is supported. Northern, but the number of personnel here is insignificant. On the whole, it can now be considered that Novaya Zemlya has "pulled together" to the limits of Belushya Guba.

In 1998, the air defense of the Arctic was practically eliminated and the northern border of Russia was opened for enemy aircraft.

If until the end of the 1980s different types of armed forces "coexisted" here, now the Central Range of Russia has become the sole and sovereign owner of Novaya Zemlya. This name was given to the landfill on February 27, 1992 according to the presidential decree No. 194 "On the landfill on Novaya Zemlya". The decree left the Central Polygon in charge of Navy... In 1998, the test site was transferred to the 12th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense ("Nuclear Technical Support and Security").

For the first time, the Ministry of Defense announced the need to build up military potential on the Northern Sea Route in March 2011. A new compound for action in the Arctic was to be formed on the basis of the 200th motorized rifle brigade, which is stationed in Pechenga. A few months later, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov announced that not one, but two Arctic army brigades would be created to protect Russian interests in the Arctic. He named Murmansk and Arkhangelsk as possible places of their deployment. The head of the defense department emphasized that when creating new units, the military will take into account the experience of the armed forces of Norway, Finland and Sweden.

- Radar stations allow us to constantly monitor how our air lines are covered. In addition, flight control points will appear - not only for civilian, but for combat aviation. If it is important for a civil dispatcher to line up the flow along the route, then the task of the gunner is to detect the target and identify it. The command post, where the whole picture of all air borders is visible, is located in the Moscow region, all the data of radar and missile attack warning radars are received there, '' said Pyotr Deinekin.

Former Air Force Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Mikhailov explained that aviation guidance points actually duplicate the role of command posts in remote areas.

- There are no command posts, aviation guidance points are used. There is no infantry in the ice, it is difficult for ships to walk, aviation is necessary there, - the interlocutor emphasized.

Now there is a frontier post on Sredny Island and there is the only airfield in the archipelago. Northern Land... The Nagurskaya frontier post operates on the Alexandra Land Island. On the coast of Chukotka, at Cape Schmidt and on Wrangel Island, in the 1960s, runways were created for alternate military airfields. In the village of Rogachevo on the South Island of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, there is an operating airfield Amderma-2 - as reported in 2013, an air group of MiG-31 interceptors will be located there.

During the Soviet era, air defense and combat aviation control points were located along the entire northern coast of the country, but in the 1990s they were abandoned by the military and abandoned.

The direct strategic routes of the US Air Force to Russia pass through the Arctic. We carried out 340 raids to the shores of America. Therefore, our air defense radar posts and fighters were located along the northern coast - on the islands of Tiksi, Vorkuta, Graham Bell, Alexandra Land, Sredny, in the Olenya Bay of the Kola Peninsula and on Cape Schmidt. After the collapse of the USSR, all this was abandoned - and we lost the opportunity to observe air targets.

We will not cover the Arctic direction without aviation. In the 1990s, we left the Arctic, abandoning airfields and a radar network. The northern direction has become the most vulnerable. Now we go to the shelf, there they stand oil platforms and no one protects them. At the same time, the United States has divided the Arctic into areas of responsibility of its military commands, it has a multibillion-dollar program for creating military equipment for arctic conditions. There is also the Arctic Council, which includes the combined military forces of Canada, Denmark, Norway, England.

The deployment of new Arctic brigades of the Ministry of Defense will take place within the framework of the implementation of the "Fundamentals of State Policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic for the Period until 2020 and Beyond" adopted by the Security Council of the Russian Federation. Within the framework of this document, in the coming years, groupings of forces will be created in the northern regions of the country that will be able to ensure the military security of the Arctic region under various options for the military-political situation.

During the year, Spetsstroy will complete the construction of air defense posts and combat aviation guidance points on the coast of the Arctic Ocean. As the newspaper notes, the restoration of the abandoned aviation infrastructure will cost 6 billion rubles. According to Izvestia, Spetsstroy will complete the restoration of the air defense infrastructure on the Arctic islands by October 2015. Such information is contained in the documents of the project executor - FSUE "Spetsstroyengineering" under "Spetsstroy Russia".

Spetsstroy confirmed the construction of five stationary radar facilities and aviation guidance points - on Sredny Island of the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago, Alexandra Island in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, Wrangel Island and Cape Schmidt in Chukotka autonomous region and in the village of Rogachevo on the South Island of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. Spetsstroy Rossii will build facilities in the listed regions. There are also plans to build similar facilities in other regions.

The Ministry of Defense also confirmed plans to restore the flight support system in the Arctic zone. Now on Sredny Island there is a frontier post and there is the only airfield in the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. The Nagurskaya frontier post operates on the Alexandra Land Island. On the coast of Chukotka, at Cape Schmidt and on Wrangel Island, in the 1960s, runways were created for alternate military airfields. In the village of Rogachevo on the South Island of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, there is an active airfield Amderma-2 (as reported in 2013, an air group of MiG-31 interceptors was located there).

Spetsstroy plans to rebuild the air defense infrastructure on the Arctic islands by October 2015. Such information is contained in the documents of the project executor - FSUE "Spetsstroyengineering" at "Spetsstroy Russia". Spetsstroy confirmed the construction of five stationary radar facilities and aviation guidance points - on Sredniy Island of the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago, Alexandra Island in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, Wrangel Island and Cape Schmidt in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and in the village of Rogachev on the South Island of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.

The Ministry of Defense also confirmed plans to restore the flight support system in the Arctic zone. An air defense radar and a dispatcher station will appear at each of the five indicated points. Information about movement in the airspace over the Arctic coast will be transmitted to the air defense command post in the Moscow region.

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In the Arctic, the Ministry of Defense has launched a large-scale construction that has not been carried out since the days of the Soviet Union. The head of the military department, General of the Army Sergei Shoigu, said that by 2018 the creation and armament of the entire Arctic group should be fully completed. The work is very difficult given the harsh climate of the region. Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Dmitry Bulgakov during a comprehensive inspection of the material technical support Bodies of military command, formations and units of the Northern Fleet visited a number of garrisons and on the island of Novaya Zemlya. Together with him, the special correspondent of the Army Standard was able to get acquainted with the progress of construction of facilities and the way of life of our military in the Arctic. The plane with the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Dmitry Bulgakov landed at the Rogachevo airfield, which is now being reconstructed to be able to receive all types of military aircraft ... An over-the-horizon radar station is being built near the airfield, and the infrastructure for a full-fledged naval base is being restored in the Belushya Guba Bay nearby. The deputy minister flew in to inspect the construction of facilities on Novaya Zemlya and assess the readiness of remote military units for winter. Novaya Zemlya met with a piercing wind and a nasty drizzling rain, turning into a downpour. For the beginning of November, the weather is abnormally warm, the officers who meet us admit, usually at this time there is snow on the island and the temperature is far below minus. The first point was a visit to the Sunflower radar station under construction on the island. It should be completed next year.

"Sunflower" - the name of the over-the-horizon radar, it is capable of detecting objects, both within sight and beyond the horizon. It is designed to detect surface and air targets at a distance of up to 450 kilometers. It is used for all-weather continuous round-the-clock control of the surface and air situation within a 200-mile economic zone Russia. The station allows in automatic mode to simultaneously or sequentially detect, track and classify up to 300 naval and 100 air objects, determine their coordinates and issue target designations for them to ship-based air defense systems and ground-based air defense systems. The deputy minister carefully examined the progress of work on the construction of the radar. The workers admitted to the "Army Standard" that it is very difficult to build on Novaya Zemlya. “The soil here is very difficult, solid basalt, it takes a lot of time to just dig a pit, excavator buckets are erased, as they say, at a time,” said one of the builders. After making a number of comments on the object, the deputy minister went to the site where our air defense systems were deployed. In 2015, not far from Rogachevo, an anti-aircraft missile regiment of the 1st Air Defense Division of the 45th Air Force Army and Air Defense of the Joint Strategic Command North took up combat duty. It is armed with S-300 "Favorite" air defense systems. Anti-aircraft missile regiment became the first full-fledged military unit Northern Fleet, formed on the islands of the Arctic Ocean. Until that time, only individual units and groups were stationed in these latitudes. The regiment's weapons, military and special equipment were delivered to the archipelago within a year. In a short time, positional areas were prepared and complexes were deployed, whose combat crews took up combat duty. Bulgakov was informed that the regiment was completely ready to perform the assigned tasks. For servicemen of the regiment serving on Novaya Zemlya, a number of benefits and privileges are provided: increased vacation and monetary allowance, provision of food rations and vitamins, double calculation of length of service, an additional coefficient to pension and the right to a planned replacement at the request of a serviceman after a 3-year period. services on the islands of the Arctic Ocean. In general, the deputy minister was pleased with what he saw. There are indeed many positive examples. As evidence of the successful operation of the Northern Fleet's MTO system, one can note the launches of ballistic missiles in the White and Barents Seas, the testing of the latest naval weapons during strategic command and staff training, the introduction of built, repaired and modernized ships, submarines and support vessels into the Navy, the implementation of northern delivery, icebreaker escort of ships and ships detachments in the Arctic zone.
After the inspection, Dmitry Bulgakov agreed to tell the Army Standard about the progress of reconstruction in the Arctic and about the system of material and technical support of the Northern Fleet.
- Dmitry Vitalievich, what work is currently being done at the Rogachevo airfield? - At the airport, work is underway to expand and lengthen the runway, create taxiways, aircraft parking areas, anti-icing areas for aircraft and other buildings and structures. The airfield will be reconstructed by the end of 2017. In addition, in 2016, about 15 objects of military and social infrastructure will be built on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago for the deployed group. Russian troops... Currently, at the stage of preparatory work is the creation of permanent airfields in the Arctic zone, including "Tiksi", "Anadyr", "Vorkuta", "Temp" on Kotelny Island. - Are the builders out of schedule?
- The infrastructure development of the RF Armed Forces in the Yuzhny village on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago is in full swing, the construction of technical positions for anti-aircraft missile units and aviation, social infrastructure, as well as the Rogachevo airfield is being carried out in accordance with the schedule. Now storage facilities for military equipment and engineering communications are being built here. To create the necessary social infrastructure, a dormitory for personnel for 100 people and a canteen are under construction. In addition, a duty shift building, a garage and a site for building personnel are being built here. In general, I can say that the creation of a military infrastructure in the Arctic is a unique project for organizing logistics, delivering materiel and cargo, as well as carrying out construction and installation work. For the first time in the history of modern Russia, work is being carried out on such a scale in the Far North. - How is the Northern Fleet in general provided now?
- The Northern Fleet, whose area of ​​responsibility covers the territory of four constituent entities of the Russian Federation (Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions, the Komi Republic, Nenets autonomous region), plays a crucial role in ensuring the military security of the Arctic region. To solve this problem, the fleet has all the capabilities - its operational composition includes four formations, 17 formations, as well as a set of military units of naval subordination. Total number the grouping of troops (forces) is about 90 thousand people. Their needs and requirements are met by a fairly powerful system of material and technical support created in the fleet, the activities of which, taking into account the operational strategic objectives, a large spatial scope and special natural and geographical conditions require significant financial and material costs, well-coordinated work of commanders, commanders and staffs of all levels, as well as logistics agencies, which number about 20 thousand military and civilian personnel. - What did the inspection of the Northern Fleet show? - From September 27 to October 25, up to 10 military command and control bodies and about 70 formations, units and organizations of various subordination, including the Kola flotilla of heterogeneous forces, the White Sea naval base, the 45th Air Force and Air Defense Army, land and coastal troops, military enlistment offices and military medical institutions, as well as parts of the 12th Main Directorate (nuclear) of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Navy and Aerospace forces. As noted in the final materials of the inspection, a large organizational and practical work, the tasks of accumulating, storing, maintaining and refreshing stocks of material resources, weapons and military equipment are being solved, the material and technical base of the logistics services of formations and military units of the fleet continues to improve, much attention is paid to improving the life of servicemen, claims work is being carried out. This is largely facilitated by the stable financial and economic situation, which has provided us with the state. All the necessary conditions have now been created to achieve a new quality of combat training, daily activities and the life of personnel. At the same time, the ships and military units classified as the best in the inspection materials are in the same conditions as those that were not included in this list. The only difference is in the presence or absence of desire, commander's will in establishing and maintaining a firm charter in all types of combat and daily activities.
- How do you assess the work of officers in the Northern Fleet? - At all times the basis of any army was and still is the officer corps. The overwhelming majority of officers serving in the Northern Fleet have high professional and strong-willed qualities. However, it must be said frankly: not all of them are now ready to conduct combat training and organize the life of their subordinates at a high modern level. Such officers must definitely improve their professional knowledge and their personal authority.

Nine airfields will be equipped in the Arctic by 2018, Oleg Sirazetdinov, head of the Main Department of Engineering Works No. 2 at Spetsstroy of Russia, told TASS in July 10, 2015. He recalled that Spetsstroy is building a number of facilities in the Arctic region, including military camps, radar observation points and airfields.

“Today we are working within the framework of the concluded contracts for the construction of three airfields. But for the period until 2018, the task is to equip (in addition to) these three more six airfields, that is, only nine, ”Sirazetdinov said. According to him, in a number of cases already existing airfields are being modernized, in some new ones are being built taking into account the possibility of providing long-range and transport aviation flights.

“The runway is being expanded on Kotelny Island, the runway is being renovated at Cape Schmidt, and a new airfield is being built in Rogachevo. We are trying to ensure that the funds allocated are used effectively, ”added the head of the Main Directorate.

He also said that military camps and infrastructure for the Russian Armed Forces at Cape Schmidt and Wrangel Island in the Arctic will be fully equipped by the end of 2015.

According to him, Spetsstroy of Russia is building for the Ministry of Defense in the Arctic region - on Cape Schmidt, Wrangel Island, Kotelny Island, Franz Josef Land archipelago. A number of facilities are under construction in the Murmansk region.

“Different construction dates have been set for different construction projects. In particular, we must fully equip Cape Schmidt and Wrangel Island with all the necessary infrastructure by the end of this year, ”said the head of the Main Directorate. At the end of October 2014, the Arctic military town Polar Star was put into operation on Wrangel Island and a residential block was inhabited, and on November 25, a similar block was put into operation at Cape Schmidt.

Another large Russian air force base is about to emerge on the Arctic archipelago of Novaya Zemlya. The hastily reconstructed Rogachevo airfield, located there, has already been prepared to receive the MiG-31BM fighter-interceptors. This was reported by the command of the Western Military District. The military said that the aircraft crews had already completed the landing at Rogachevo. Without telling, however, where the MiGs will fly to, far from any civilization, Novaya Zemlya. But the fact that the closest regiments of such fighter-interceptors are stationed in Perm (Bolshoye Savino) and Monchegorsk in the Murmansk region leads to certain reflections. Reconstruction of the runway at the Rogachevo airfield was completed in 2013.

The crews of the MiG-31BM fighter-interceptors have already completed the landing at the new airfield, Oleg Kochetkov, a representative of the Western Military District, said on September 17, 2014.

Fortunately, the same Rogachevo airfield did not now have to be rebuilt as, say, the already mentioned Temp on Kotelny Island. The military did not leave Novaya Zemlya for a day, despite the termination of nuclear tests at the site located here, known as the "Object 700". And therefore in Rogachevo, military transport aircraft landed and are landing regularly.

Colonel Sergei DENISOV, deputy commander of the 1st Air Defense Division.

- Sergey Vladimirovich, how have the range of tasks to be solved and the area of ​​responsibility of your unit changed?- After the creation of the 1st division and its entry into the USC, the main changes at the first stage occurred in the vertical of command. If earlier we were led by the 1st command of the Air Force and Air Defense, stationed in Voronezh, now we are part of the USC, the main base of which is located in Severomorsk, and are directly subordinate to the commander of the Northern Fleet. And after the formation of the Air Force and Air Defense Army as part of the USC, which should take place before the end of 2015, we will lock ourselves into it.

The range of our tasks in the Arctic has also significantly expanded, the area of ​​responsibility has increased by an average of one thousand kilometers. Our units were deployed on Kotelny Island a few years ago. On the Franz Josef Land archipelago, or rather on the Alexandra Land island, a radar department and aviation guidance points have already been created. Also on Novaya Zemlya in the village of Rogachevo, we deployed a radar department.

By the end of the year, the same unit will appear on Sredny Island. I want to note that on Alexandra Land and in Rogachevo, our units took up combat duty from December 1, 2014. Over the past months, we have seen how high interest in the Arctic from foreign countries is now: reconnaissance planes constantly fly in high latitudes.

- What conditions have been created there for servicemen?

- Now excellent conditions are being created for service in the Arctic. Accommodation and service modules have already been built on the New Siberian Islands. The barracks are equipped with recreation areas, there are billiard rooms, a bathhouse, a sauna. On the Kotelny Island of the Novosibirsk Islands, a closed-cycle military town called North Clover with a club, a gym and a sauna has been created. Now in Franz Josef Land, the construction of similar residential and office complexes is in full swing. We control each stage, we check the work of contractors.

The construction of new complexes began on Novaya Zemlya in the village of Rogachevo, where an anti-aircraft missile regiment, which is now being formed, will then be located. Wells have already been drilled for service modules. For military personnel contract service dormitories will be built, and barracks for conscripts. Such a hostel for 500 people and a united barracks are already being built in Rogachevo. It is planned that recruits autumn call Those wishing to serve in the Arctic will be the first to test the new conditions. In the meantime, we are sending only officers, warrant officers and contract soldiers to high latitudes. Everywhere in the Arctic points of air defense, comfortable conditions are created for service and life, and the most Hi-tech... It is felt that we have returned to the Arctic seriously and for a long time, since the created Arctic infrastructure meets the most modern requirements and standards.

- How are the servicemen set up to serve in the harsh conditions of the Arctic?

- We have no problems in recruiting units deployed in the Arctic zone. Servicemen go with a desire, because good conditions have been created there, preferential service lasts a year in two, the size of monetary allowance, since the regional coefficient is 2, and not 1.4, as in the regions of the Far North. I believe that for young defenders of the Fatherland, service in the Arctic zone opens up great prospects for service and personal growth... Former colleagues often call me, asking about the Arctic and wondering how to send their sons there.

And in Rogachevo you can transport the whole family. Medical services for the population have been established there, there are Kindergarten, school, good Officers' House. By order of Metropolitan of All Russia Kirill, Orthodox churches have been erected in all military posts of the Arctic zone.

Of course, climatic conditions there are harsh, the wind is constantly blowing, the temperature is different, but this year the winter stood out without severe frosts. People settle down and even raise chickens and grow flowers in the summer. In general, the Arctic has unusually beautiful nature, which fascinates with its pristine nature ...

- In such places, besides the opportunity to admire the landscapes, it is important to feel yourself not torn off from the mainland ...

- Communication with the mainland is carried out by the Northern Sea Route with the help of the icebreaker fleet and with the participation of aviation: the Il-76, An-26 and An-74 are constantly flying.

- What are the tasks facing the division this year?

- The primary task is to form an anti-aircraft missile regiment on Novaya Zemlya in Rogachevo, to put it into operation so that it can take up combat duty by the end of the year. We have to get new weapons: the Pantsir-S1 self-propelled anti-aircraft missile-gun system and radar equipment. In general, this year the division's technical fleet will be gradually updated by 50 percent, and by 2020 - by 100 percent.

The ability to reliably intercept enemy air attack weapons in nuclear and conventional weapons from the Barents Sea to the Laptev Sea is worth it. The need to deploy military aviation in Rogachevo is dictated by two reasons. First, the MiG-31 will be part of the missile defense system being created in Russia and will have to ensure the protection of Russia's borders from an air attack from the North. Secondly, they will provide cover for the Russian nuclear test site deployed on Novaya Zemlya (Object 700).

It is worth noting the command post exercises that took place in August 2014. Then in the sky beyond the Arctic Circle it was as hot as in the hot sky of Ashuluk. There they worked out tasks on the tactics of using the operational-strategic aviation of the Russian Air Force.

Suffice it to say that a whole squadron of Su-34 front-line bombers from the mixed aviation regiment (Buturlinovka) of the Western Military District flew the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for the first time.

They passed over the water area of ​​the Barents and Kara Seas. For the first time, during the flight over the NSR route, each of the crews performed two refueling in the air from the Il-78 tanker aircraft in pairs at the same time, covering more than 5 thousand kilometers.

At the same time, all involved aircraft were relocated in advance to operational airfields. Refueling in the air was complicated by the strong gusty winds that are typical for this time of year in northern latitudes.

In turn, the crews of the front-line bombers Su-24M (TsVO) at the Lumbovka training ground (Kola Peninsula) inflicted an assault attack on a convoy of military equipment of a simulated enemy, simulated by full-size targets. The planes flew from the Rogachevo airfield on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. Air space they were "cleared" by MiG-31 interceptor fighters flying from an operational airfield in Vorkuta (Komi Republic).

The length of the route was about 2 thousand kilometers thanks to, again, refueling in the air. The MiG-31 and Su-34 aircraft rose to the 82nd parallel, making a long-range interception.

The work was carried out under the control of the A-50 aircraft.

“The fighter air group will be on patrol in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, beyond 82nd latitude. Imitating the enemy, strategic missile carriers Tu-95 will enter the alert zone, which will need to be intercepted by the pilots of the Central Military District. Similar tasks in this area will be performed for the first time, "- said the press service of the Central Military District before the start of the exercise.

It is not the first year that comparable exercises have been conducted in the Arctic regions. For example, in 2012, aircraft took off from the Rogachevo airfield on Novaya Zemlya.

By the way, the Vorkuta (Soviet) airfield will also be reconstructed. Now a project for the reconstruction of the airfield is being created and financing is being determined (a plan is being worked out). According to the "Transport Strategy Russian Federation for the period up to 2030 "provides for the reconstruction of the federal airport" Vorkuta "to expand the list of classes of aircraft received and improve the quality of passenger service. The general plan proposes: - preservation of the existing helipads: "Square" of the "Vorkuta" aerodrome, based on the planned demand for local air transportation.

From the diagram of the boundaries of the execution of engineering and geological surveys, posted in the documentation for the tender "Execution of drilling and laboratory work on engineering and geological surveys for the object: "Reconstruction of the airfield" Vorkuta (Soviet) ", n. Sovetskiy, Vorkuta, Komi Republic ”it becomes known what type of aircraft will be based on this airfield: Technical position of MiG-31 aircraft preparation - 12 units. Group parking spaces: A-50 - 1 unit, Il-76 - 2 units, Il-78 - 9 units, Tu-95 - 9 units.

Increased attention is being paid to environmental safety region, elimination of the negative consequences of previous military activities. These issues have not been addressed since the Soviet period. The cleaning of the territories in the zone of responsibility of the Russian Ministry of Defense has been organized. The waste inherited from the past is being utilized.

At the Central Test Site of the Russian Federation (Novaya Zemlya archipelago), aviation environmental monitoring was carried out on an area of ​​100 square kilometers using aerial photography. The engineering troops demolished 101 buildings, carried out partial reclamation of the areas where the objects stood. 14.5 hectares in the areas of the military towns of Belushya Guba and Severny, Rogachevo airfield have been cleared of scrap metal (over 700 tons) and construction waste.

While the entire population of our vast Motherland votes for the name for a nuclear-powered cruise missile, it's time to remember the Central Test Site of the Russian Federation, located on Novaya Zemlya, about that part of it where nuclear weapons were tested at one time.
By the way, what name do you like best? Palmyra, Surprise or Petrel? It seems to me that Palmyra is better, especially if the next test of the CD is held in Syria.

One of the concrete bins with a viewing window

There are three large settlements... In the southwestern part of the archipelago are located one beside the other the villages of Belushya Guba and Rogachevo with a former airfield of fighter aircraft and units of antiaircraft missiles and air defense systems. It is Belushya Guba that is now the logistics center for the provision and management of the Central Test Site.

The settlement of Severny is located on the shores of the Matochkin Shar strait and in the past was a base for ensuring the conduct of nuclear tests at two sites for underground explosions (the southern bank of Matochkin Shar near the village) and air explosions, 50 kilometers north, where it was blown up. the so-called "tsar bomb". According to open data, there is no permanent population in the village now.
Nevertheless, there is a rich infrastructure left from nuclear weapons testing around, which can be partly explored with the help of Wikimapia.

We will go a little further south to the Pankova Peninsula, the Earth of the western coast of Novaya Zemlya, and try to tie it on the map using scarce sources and understand what is left of the so-called Automatic control panel of zone "D" explosions. This place in Wikimapia is marked as an uninhabited village of Pankovo, located 2 km from the seashore.

Unfortunately, space imagery does not allow us to examine this place in detail, and we will turn to the topographic maps and materials of the Marine Arctic Complex Expedition (MAKE) of the Russian Research Institute of Cultural and Natural Heritage named after V.I. D.S.Likhachev under the command and scientific guidance of P.V. Boyarsky. In 1993, the expedition visited this place and left short description and, what is important, an eye plan.

On topographic map it can be seen that a winter road from Gribovaya Bay leads to Pankovo ​​from the south from the ruins marked there

Let's turn to the text of the description of this object. I was too lazy to retype the text, so I present it here in a scanned form. This is where the first major inconsistency appears. According to the description, the KP is located 200-300 m from the coast of the bay, which flows into the Gribovaya Bay of the Plutovka River. This place is marked on the topographic map as ruins, but not at all as Pankovo.

Read on and look at the map. I am not left with a persistent feeling that this is not the village of Pankovo, but the ruins marked on the map. Unfortunately, in space imagery, the resolution of this area allows only guessing the presence of some ruins there, similar to stone houses.

Wikimapia comes to the rescue. There is nothing in it at the site of the ruins, but interesting photos are uploaded to the article about the village of Pankovo.
Bingo! This is exactly what we need. An aerial photograph from about 2013 makes it possible to understand what is in the "ruins" area on the bank of the Gribovaya Bay. Apparently, someone has attached the photographs to a slightly different location.

Let's pay attention to the plan presented in the materials of the expedition

On the plan, we are most interested in two bunkers, one of which has a viewing window for observing air nuclear explosions carried out about 90 km to the north (battlefield).
the presence of the sea coast on the plan once again testifies to the fact that the skysky object is located at the point marked as "ruins", and not as Pankovo.
The name of the plan differs from the way this object is given in the text description (Automation command post or First polygon control panel?). I will explain this by the negligence of the performers who were too lazy to fix it explicitly working title plan.
And yet, I noticed that the buildings of the village are oriented towards nuclear explosion, slightly hiding from it by the elevation of the relief, but how then to observe the explosion? It's simple - the explosion is air.

We read further the description of the village in the materials of the expedition and, despite a fairly solid description, we immediately find another confusion. It follows from the text that the special part of the village is located in its extreme west, while from the plan it follows that in the south. Further, when comparing the plan and description, we understand that the error in orientation is not a single one, but a systemic one and is exactly 90 degrees. I think that this is a mistake of the compiler of the text, who wrote it according to the plan and did not pay attention to the fact that the arrow to the north does not point upwards as is customary, but to the right ;-) But everything is more or less normal.

This is how the control room building, a concrete bunker with a viewing window and three masts sticking out next to them, looks like in the photo from the materials of the 1993 expedition. No photo quality ...

Entrance to the concrete bunker. Compare this photo with a photo taken on the screen saver no later than 2015. They differ in details, most likely this is an eastern bunker without a viewing window. I can assume that the right door leads to the room with the HLF.

Photo of an unnamed village "ruins" taken no later than 2015 from a helicopter. A closer look reveals both bunkers and at least one mast. Other structures also meet the plan. The two-storey residential building can be clearly seen. A block of buildings of the aviation post is visible in the distance.

That's so beautiful. now there is no doubt that we have attached the object correctly

But the photos in Wikimapia are not linked correctly, nevertheless they are informative. Here is a helicopter landing at the helipad near the block of buildings of the aviation post

Aviation post building block

Our two bunkers. In the background is the control room building. Looks like surveyors are working. What are they preparing for?

Accurately surveyors

Something like that. I will introduce you to other unique fortifications next time

Materials used:
1. Proceedings of the Marine Arctic Complex Expedition. Issue IV. New Earth. Volume 3.193. M., 1994.S. 83, 84, 104, 105.
2. Wikimapia.